All right folks how we doing team and at give an opening statement or about this weekend okay first of all I just like to say uh good evening to everyone I look around the crowd I feel like I’m at home so it’s no stage right up here
Um but this is real informal kind of open up to questions and answers and as far as the 84 team uh getting together uh just like to thank the university for acknowledging uh a team of 40 years ago uh Jim Masters and I were sitting out on
The court watching the young kids uh recently and uh it’s hard to believe uh we were 18yearold kids and in the same spot they were but uh Kentucky basketball is special and for them to acknowledge uh old men like us we appreciate it okay uh Sam was a senior
That year was all americ of course set in stage for a long NBA career so we’ll throw it open for questions this time just go ahead Sam just dinner retion last night what was that like were good stories probably some stories I wouldn’t not be
Able to repeat um but no uh when you get our age all we can do is sit around and reminisce and uh um the Brotherhood that we had back then uh I think that had a lot to do with the success that we had in 884 uh no Eagles were involved guys
Didn’t worry about stats and uh but the stories last night uh some hilarious some sad obviously uh God bless uh coach Hall uh Brett barup Melvin Turpin uh so uh it went uh from here to there and uh but it was a beautiful evening I think people probably you came
Back he expected you to put up crazy numbers yet that’s that’s a good point I was just uh telling somebody uh 30 minutes ago that I was a second pick in the draft and I only average 10 points a game I was talking to coach oh we were
Out on the floor and I was trying to tell him that these kids got to realize that if you do what you’re supposed to do you can do this thing for a living and get compensated at it but I took the fourth most shots of the team average 10
Points a game and uh but we as a group uh had a lot of success so uh but that’s a good point you don’t have to go out and put up 30 points to be uh noticed Jim and I prior to walking to this uh press conference here Jim just
Said how the game has really changed uh everyone shoots threes you have a three-on-one break instead of running to the blocks and getting a layup everybody spots up for a three um the talent uh obviously is um is uh has been taught to the point where uh you cannot just be a
Straight up Postman uh so the game uh has gotten to the point where someone like me I have to try and figure out what I’m watching question the back the three bigs we have um I’m just glad I’m not on the roster because I wouldn’t get any minutes uh these guys
Uh to see the progress and I hear that big Z’s back tonight so um we need Rim protectors we need guys to get the ball off the glass and start our transition because I think Cal’s team is built where transition basketball is to our advantage uh so I’m excited to uh see
What our bigs look like tonight but I think uh come March Madness uh I’m a jokeer when I say this if we don’t win it this year it’s Cal’s [Laughter] fault I know that’s going to be the lead story tonight no pressure yeah no pressure John that’s an interesting question because I
Feel like walking around here in the Commonwealth that they think I’m still on the roster um but the fact that we did come up short and did not get a chance to put another uh National Championship banner up there all through my pro career every time I saw Patrick
Ying I used to tell him he’s walking around with my ring because not you Patrick or anybody can tell me that we were not the best team in the country we just happened to come up and have a half the way we did in Seattle but I think
The people are thinking like Mr Buie that we still were the national champions so anyone El question stage what was that like I came together that first yeah and for me I had set out two years so I was really uh looking forward to contributing and I felt like I had
Let the university down by not being able to play but uh we as a team I’m sure Jim feels the same way we’re very confident we uh you know ranked top five in the country throughout the year and we just felt as though um there’s a lot
Of things that a team had to do on that particular night for us to come up short so uh we weren’t cocky we weren’t conceited but we were very confident um and uh I just uh I felt that with coach Hall too uh he there was a lot of
Pressure on him as everyone knows and uh but uh we were very confident team question for Sam mention what that team was about yeah without a doubt uh senior year when you come through the hoop uh the memories the emotions um knowing that it’s coming to
A close uh all the relationships and uh all the uh love that we had as a unit a lot of times the general public they they just see the ball thrown up and the game begins but there’s so many people that make it happen and I knew after
Being here for five years that that was coming to a close so uh my last game here uh will um stick out above I was blessed to play on the make the 1980 Olympic team and played double digits in the NBA but Kentucky my last game in rup Arena by far Jim Masters
Turn stage last night he was born early around back a great long range was shot late 80s and just been incredible thing for this guy was player during his time and one thing that’s made the union extra special this year uh Jim has gift to the university of1
Million uh half of it is going to go to the yat College of Business and economics other half is going to be for the athletic department so just a real special time real special moment Jim announced that Mr carart did last night at the at the reunion reception and so
Just really pleased thankful for OB what he has done University as a student also continuing to do during his time here soim talk anything about the about to this weekend we’ll thr over questions yeah I’m better at questions usually but uh Sam was great uh Sam
Should have passed the ball to me a little bit more my senior year I thought and Melvin too but God bless Melvin God bless Brett Bar so lot of special times uh being acknowledged as we all get older everyone out here your careers uh you get older you reflect so I truly am
Thankful to the university and first class what they’ve done for us the last couple nights and keeping us updated and my son’s here so my wife they they’re not used to this as much so my wife’s from Cincinnati and it’s all good so we’ve enjoyed it a lot of great memories
Uh seeing all the guys not all of them could make it but just seeing them a lot of fun for me and and it’s a camaraderie it’s a like a fraternity back then also being a as you get older being a very small part of an unbelievable tradition in Kentucky
Basketball you get more and more pride of that’s what I did so a lot of pride a lot of great friends a lot of great memories a couple bad ones but uh all in all it’s been beautiful I think for all of us and for our families to come back beautiful right questions
Suchi of wi had well if you’re asking does it ever go away I would say no uh but again we actually accomplished a lot in my four years we won three SC champ SEC championships we came in second I think in the other one there
You go and we we went to my my teams went to two Elite eights uh we went to a final four so we accomplished a lot we were basically rated top five almost all the played North Carolina up in the metal lands one a day after Christmas so
A lot of great memories just that we didn’t quite get to the finish line on a couple of them but we had great careers and I think we have a a lot more great memories than we do a couple tough ones but that was a tough one yeah how many
Point if buoy and Turpin would have passed more a lot more uh here is a reflection I I I don’t really think I cared that much for a while about the three-pointer and know people would ask me but the older I get and the more games I watch it’s a little tough to
Watch it’s like wow Sam said it the game has changed so much to the better I think so outside shooting I think the shot clock was the best invention ever NCAA should have gone to that way before but the three-pointer I think it’s it’s exciting it’s fun my son I coach now the
Eighth grade team at s and none of them really take two-pointers I hope you get the joke you guys can take a two-point you don’t have to be out the three-point line at eighth grade so it really has changed the game I think think for for
The better and yes I reflect on that once in a while when I see these games hi Dick yeah as I told Sam uh just sitting out there and U you know we’ve played Sam played in the pros I got drafted I’ve been around great players Michael Jordan a lot in my
Career it’s amazing I know you guys come to all the games to see how big and strong even to myself son I said Leo it’s impressive to me the the young men walk by and you’re like whoa so extremely talented uh transition that was a word
Used on say transition game wow we even talked about which I’m sure Coach Cal and the rest of his staff do every day how are we going to get enough playing time for some of these guys they all have showed I might be thinking of one that
Maybe hasn’t yet but all of them have showed wow to to me uh so that’s what they they coach that’s what they get paid for that’s what they talk about but I’m sure getting playing time getting the right guys in there at the right time so big deal but wow talented and
Then Z comes back tonight really I mean wow so many I’m going to take the last question first a lot and I love it okay but that brings up another bad memory because Bittersweet that’s one of my favorite words for that game uh I’m I had a great
Game I had a great game before our team was right there without s buy without s buy and a lot of Pride there how we really came together at the end of the year but if there was a three-pointer okay thank you so I was really shooting
Well at that time that whole season if you follow but it anyway so a lot dick and it’s a beautiful thing my son or my wife beautiful thing so great question on uh my donation so there’s really about six reasons one I’ve had good fortune and and good luck
I talked to Mitch about a year ago uh even better things have happened to me during this time so I was thinking about a dick for a while and then I thought about education and all this and and uh so I live here I played here I’m
Part of a crazy tradition small part I graduated in four years business proud of that my brother Randy went to uh business school there so the education part the athletic part uh I’m a big Mitch barnhard fan for not only what he does on the court but what he does off the
Court my son he didn’t like basketball until last year so so that’s fun he’s into it we live here I said all those things and I thought it was time to do something how small it is I hope it helps the university not only athletically I hope
It helps shows all young men or women that you don’t have to be a first round back draft pick you don’t have to be a first round baseball player football you can still be successful in life with a degree from Kentucky and be a student athlete and move on and do
Good things I hope that does something for the University hope it does something for other people and I’m proud to do it yes surpr a lot of what do you see wow so I coached my eighth grade team if I didn’t tell you and my reed Shephard’s always the best and what a
Fabulous player and sometimes people say fundamentals as a negative meaning he’s not he his fundamentals are I’m not a great coach like coach KY Perry his fundamentals are crazy and he’s a crazy player I mean he’s good athletic and everything so he’s special also what makes him I think special and Coach Kip
Perry and his staff I tell my young son and the kids on my team it really doesn’t matter if you start it matters how much you play and how you play when you’re in the game and all those boys all look at him and say who’s always in the game with
Five minutes to go if it’s a close game Reed sheeper all these young men are talented that’s what we were talking about there so many good players but I’m so impressed with Reed Shepard but more not only if his fundamentals how he conducts himself he doesn’t start but he plays a
Lot and when he plays his minutes he plays him well so good question yes what did you not see the tapes or what well first of all I’d give this team no advice as your first thing was pretty accurate when wasn’t the greatest defensive player ever but people had to
Have offense too out there but I don’t think well they need no advice from me they’re so talented and another thing I know we’re in what are we in late January yeah yeah I think their competitiveness has gotten way better on that that end I’m not I would not be
Worried about that at all I’m sure coach Kip Perry and his staff it’s they’re probably all on them but they look like they have the competitive fire when they get going I I still think there’s uh the road’s very long for them to continue to improve so much quickness wow wow be
Stretch now that is a good question because he actually was one of the great Shooters great shooting big men I I really meanest of all time he could shoot it well back in those days I’d say he could shoot it like a guard now all
Of them can shoot it like a guard but I think he would have he probably would have stretched out there you’re right so maybe I wouldn’t have got as many threes as I thought so yes he could do it he was a shooter I think Melvin was even a little better
Just so you know Sam was way better at other things Melvin wouldn’t pass the ball at all does anybody believe at all absolutely well again I told Brett’s Brett’s son is here and Brett’s brother is here and that’s very nice Tom Heights kind of helped out getting that and you
Know come on guys we’re all getting older in gals you you think of things and there’s some days I’ll tell my son you know you don’t want to do something well seriously I mean this as a compliment and a beautiful thing Brett barup doesn’t have a decision you can
Get out of bed and go to school okay so I think about those things and uh Brett barup and I were very close he helped recruit me and I was telling his son crazy stories about recruiting me but very bright guy he would send me creative packages in the middle they
Might blow up they might sing Happy Birthday they might have UK because he wanted me to come to UK I don’t know if it worked but we had a lot of really serious fun times he was a very very bright guy any other questions else thank you all right
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